Tempest in a teapot? Vatican prosecutors defend fraud trial

By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Prosecutors in the Vatican’s fraud and extortion trial are dismissing defense objections in the case as a “tempest in a teapot.” They are defending their investigation and insisting they have turned over all evidence needed for the trial to open. Judge Giuseppe Pignatone is to rule Tuesday on seven month’s worth of motions to dismiss the charges made by lawyers for the 10 people accused of financial crimes in  the Holy See’s 350 million euro investment in a London real estate venture.Prosecutor Alessandro Diddi insisted on the worthiness of the case going forward, noting that the latest estimates indicate the Holy See lost 217 million euros on the deal, much of it donations from the faithful.